A Time Before the Heroes
by Pulvis et umbra sumus
Summary: A Lily and James Potter fanfiction. This is about Lily and James going through their years at Hogwarts. Going to be pretty long. First fic..
1. Chapter 1

Lily Evans sat staring into the dying fire in the hearth late on the last night of her sixth year. Bringing her legs up underneath her, she flicked her shoulder-blade length dark red hair over her shoulder, sighing heavily. Just the thought of having to leave Hogwarts the next day caused a physical ache to grow in her chest. She didn't want to leave.

She would have considered it a gift if she were allowed to spend the summer at Hogwarts, even if her best friend May Delfin wasn't going to be there. Any life, even her dismal school life was better than spending the summer being harassed by her horse-faced sister.

She could deal with anything, not having many friends, or good friends that she could trust, was a small disadvantage compared to what she had to go through every summer.

Over the school years she'd subconsciously taught herself to believe that as long as she had May and a good book by her side, she didn't need anything else, not her family, not a whole lot of friends, and definitely not Petunia.

This train of thought got her through the coldest and most depressing moments of her life, even for the first few weeks during the summer the thought managed to keep her sane. However, after those happily blissful weeks of peace passed, she would slowly deteriorate, and allow Petunia to trample all over the barriers she's built. And when this happened, she had no choice but to grow stiffer and more rigidly opposed to any kind of human interaction. Blocking off any emotional missiles that someone might launch at her.

She remembered bitterly how close Petunia and her had been before she's received the acceptance letter. Everything had changed after that. Petunia had turned on her.

Lily had a feeling that this had something to do with Petunia feeling betrayed or left behind, but what could she do? She was a witch yes, but she was still the same person. She wished desperately that Petunia would see that, but she was beginning to think that that was a lost hope.

~~~~

Letting a solitary tear out in defeat, she rested her chin on her knees. She knew she was being foolish, but really, Petunia had been her very best friend for so many years, and all of the sudden, completely without reason, she turns her back.

Lily remembered vividly the first week at Hogwarts. She'd been absolutely distraught when she'd first arrived. What was she to expect? Were witches mean? Were they really what Petunia said they were, Freaks? The only thing that seemed natural to do, was for her to write her most trusted sister, begging for some kind of compassion. She conveyed all of her thoughts and feelings, laying her soul bare, and what she got in return was a cruel slap in the face.

The letter she had received in reply; the last letter she had ever gotten from Petunia brought a painful lurch to her heart. It helped set the stage for the following years.

**FIRST YEAR**

Freak,

Look, I can really care less about your minor problems. I've got bigger, more important problems of my own. I can't believe that you would actually leave me, a normal person, to become one of those freaks! And as for you not making any friends, If you haven't made friends by now, you probably won't EVER! Not that I'm surprised, you've always been an ugly, socially impaired, brainless git, who would wanna be friends with that?

I hope I never have to see you again. I know that's impossible, but just make me one last promise, never, EVER, write me again.

The much better offspring.

To say that Lily was shocked to receive such a hateful letter from Petunia was an understantment. The one person she thought would always be by her side, her own sister, had turned against her.

Staring down at the parchment, she watched a tear drop splash against the thick parchment. She drew a shaky breath, and crumpled it angrily in her fist. She couldn't believe that her only friend in the whole world hated her as much as she wrote. Lily was suddenly conscious of the fact that all she really had left were her parents. It was right then that she subconsciously started to build walls around her, protecting her from further hurt.

~~~~

She stood up calmly, tucking the ball of crumpled paper into her robe pocket. Tears splashed onto her shirt. She'd given up all pretense of hiding them. They were coming to strongly.

A girl that was sitting next to Lily looked up at her in concern. She had shoulder length black hair and large gray eyes, a beautiful combination.

"Are you all right?" she asked kindly. Lily looked down at the girl who was watching her. The familiar look of sadness, the same type of sadness that Lily was feeling, was obvious in her stormy gray eyes. Lily smiled weakly, suddenly feeling a kinship with the girl, and nodded. "Would you like to talk about it?"

She nodded again, knowing somehow that the girl would understand. The girl stood up and began following Lily out of the Great Hall.

LIly sank down heavily on the large red couch when they reached the common room, and buried her head in her hands. Embarrassment washed over her as she realized that she was crying to a complete stranger. The girl sat down next to her, placing a comforting hand on her shaking shoulder. Lily gave a choked sob, and let her mouth run away with itself for the first time since she'd arrived at Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry. She conveyed her thoughts, fears, insecurities, letting this girl, this strange girl in on her private life.

The girl sat silently, nodding at all the right times, giving a shoulder to cry on when Lily was at her worst, and just listening. Sometimes when the occasion called for it, she would comment with a note of sympathy.

After an hour, Lily had finally worn herself out.

"I'm sorry to bore you with my problems," Lily muttered weakly, slipping the girl a sheepish smile.

"Oh it's quiet alright, it's good to talk again," she replied kindly.

Lily gave a sniffly laugh.

"Yea, hey what's your name anyway?"

The pretty girl blushed.

"Oh, of course! How stupid of me! I didn't even introduce myself, May Delfin." She held out her hand. Lily took it, finally smiling for the first real time that she'd been at Hogwarts.

~~~~

As the years flew by, May and Lily still remained the best of friends. Nothing much had changed, Lily still never let anyone break down the walls she had built protectively around her, and May was still an open sympathetic listener.

Only May was able to get through to Lily, to talk to her, to understand her, and this attitude went basically both ways. And because of this, Lily and May were misunderstood and looked down on, because they isolated themselves from the student body. Personally, Lily could care less; this only gave Lily more reason to hold fast to her defenses.

For six years, Lily and May would sit in the back of each class class, taking notes, and finishing assignments. Occasionally, they would talk amongst themselves in whispers. No one really ever paid much attention to them. They were, for all intents and purposes, invisible.

The only thing that really gained Lily recognition, was the fact that she was the best in charms, thanks to all the extra credit she would do. She was also excellent in transfiguration, but not as good as James Potter, who was the best.

James Potter was the unofficial leader of the legendary Marauders. The group consisted of James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. They were the school pranksters, the class clowns. Everyone wanted to get in on their jokes, or say that they were friends with the famous Marauders, the name alone gave them instant respect, even the teachers seemed like they didn't want to get in their way. Every guy envied them and every girl wanted to be with them.

Thinking about them frustrated Lily. She had no problems admitting that she was jealous of them. They had everything, everyone loved them, and they were obviously great friends, having a bond that a mad herd of rampaging hippogriffs couldn't break. And to top it off, they were respected school wide, while Lily and May weren't even known to exist. It just didn't seem fair.

She let a few more tears fall into the fabric of her sleep pants. The fire in the grate was dying slightly, casting the Common room in a warm glow.

The knob to the portrait hole then began to jiggle and voices could be heard on the other side. She heard a creak and a laugh as the door crept open.

"This is going to be great! I can't wait until we can join you Moony! We're going to have a kick arse time!" Sirius Black's voice whispered excitedly.

Instinctively snapping her head around, she regarded the boys. They crept in, obviously not noticing that she was in the room.

It was the Marauders. James Potter was in the lead. His pitch-black hair was everywhere as usual, and his bright blue eyes were pleasantly sparkling secretively behind thin silver rimmed glasses. He was the tallest of the four, reaching around 6'3. He had broad shoulders from quidditch training, and a chest that most girls only dreamed about touching. Lily had to admit to herself his was good looking. He was the kindest and gentlest of the bunch, even when he was pranking, he never let it get too far out of hand. He was the heart and soul of the Marauders.

The next one to walk in was Sirius Black, his smile was contagious. The female population of Hogwarts couldn't help but turn to mush when he talked to you. Even the teachers were sometimes snatched by his unavoidable charm. Lily however thought his most appealing feature was his eyes. They were a light brown, almost like a cat's eyes, and shined with mystery. If they weren't sparkling mischievously, then they were dancing with laughter. He always seemed to have a trick up his sleeve, and this; Lily thought, was who Sirius Black was.

After Sirius, came Remus Lupin. He was the third tallest, reaching 6'0 ft exactly, an inch shorter then Sirius's 6'1 height. His eyes were a light green, compared to Lily's bright emerald eyes. He always seemed to be tired, but he was also very sweet and shy. He was the only shy Marauder, and for this, Lily respected him. He, like James, loved to help those in need. He was the one Marauder that Lily wouldn't mind hanging around. Nope, not at all.

Finally, the Marauder she could live without walked in. Peter Pettigrew. He scared her. He always had that creepy vibe to him. She didn't know how to characterize him other, then short and scary.

All of the boys stopped laughing immediately when they spotted Lily. In fact, they weren't even smiling anymore. She began to fidget uncomfortably.

They stood there in the entrance to the common room, too surprised to speak. Remus pushed through James, and Sirius.

"Er…Hello…Lily?" Remus stammered nervously, his face unnaturally pale.

Lily began to wonder what they were doing out so late on the last day of school.

"Hello," she hiccuped nervously.

Remus walked cautiously over to where she was sitting on the couch and sat down next to her. She moved over toward the armrest slightly, her eyes widening. The Marauders had never sat next to her, or even really talked to her, besides asking for help in charms. This was not like Remus at all, or at least the Remus she was used to in class.

"What are you doing up now?" He looked at her closely. "What's wrong?" he added, after seeing her tear stained face.

She stood up, now blushing, and tried to hide her face.

"Oh, it's nothing." She waved her hand as if to push her problem away.

The other Marauders situated themselves around her. Remus stood up, effectively blocking her escape. She blushed harder, overwhelmed by being blockaded by three extremely tall boys, and one scary one. She began to back away, only to back up into Sirius Black's chest. She glanced up, stepping slowly away from Sirius, and into the center of the circle of boys. Her neck was beginning to cramp at having to look up so much.

Sirius looked extremely uncomfortable, almost as uncomfortable as she was right now. James on the other hand, who was standing right in front of her, was looking at her with concern, a typical James thing.

She felt the corners of her mouth lift into a smile.

He was the Marauder with the biggest heart and everyone knew it. He was the second Marauder that she wouldn't mind being friends with, even if he was beating her at being the best in transfiguration. Peter was the Marauder that she could live without, despite being scary; he always looked terrified, like now for instance, he looked like he was about to pee his pants.

"Yes… well… I'll see you then," Lily said uneasily and pushed her way through Remus and Jamesm, who were closest to the girl's staircase.

James reached out and grabbed her wrist, spinning her around and looked at him. He opened his mouth, but shut it quickly, continuing to stare at Lily.

"You didn't hear anything did you? Like us talking?" Sirius asked from the other side of James.

Lily stared at him for a moment. All she wanted to do was go up to her room and crawl into bed.

"No, I didn't hear anything," she squeaked out, shaking her head.

The boys gave a collective sigh of relief. James nodded to her, giving her a dazzling smile and let go of her wrist. She gave a small smile back and turned around toward the direction of the stairs.

Once she had disappeared Sirius gave a low whistle and threw himself down next to the almost dead fire. "That, mi amigos, was too close for comfort." He sighed. "We almost had to 'Obliviate' her. I would not have liked to do that."

Remus nodded, sitting back down on the couch next to Sirius. He folded his arms across his chest and looked up at James who was staring at the stairs Evans had disappeared up. "What's up, Prongs?"

James turned his head, smiling weakly at them.

"I don't know, I just, I wonder why she was crying?" he said, scratching his ear, a habit he had when he was worried or confused.

"Ahh Prongsie, don't worry so much about it. Your heart is way to big man," Sirius said, releasing a large yawn.

James shrugged and began to walk up to his dormitories to go to sleep. Followed reluctantly by Remus, Sirius, and Peter.

**Well, how do you like it? **


	2. Going Home

A beam of bright sunlight woke Lily up the next morning. Groaning loudly, she squeezed her eyes shut against the light; wishing for it all to be a dream, a very evanescent dream.

However, she was very well aware that somebody in the room was running around, frantically throwing last minute articles of clothing into a trunk.

Pulling her duvet closer to her slender body, she sucked in a few seconds of warmth before May would come in and wake her from her tranquility. Not two seconds after she thought this, the girl in question peeked through the curtains.

Her sleek black hair was now just past her shoulder blades, somewhat like Lily's red hair. The dark blue highlights she had streaked through it, brought out the color of her stormy gray eyes, which were shining in happiness. In fact, she seemed almost to happy for such a gloomy day.

She supposed she really couldn't blame her friend. May had every reason to be happy. If anyone deserved to be happiness, it was her. She was the greatest person Lily knew. Not many people knew her as the sweet kindhearted girl that Lily knew her as though, it was quite sad that no one really knew or cared to know the real May, the one that would bend over backwards for her friends, protecting their pride and dignity. The one who could be the most sensitive and easily upset person. But then again, did anyone really know the real Lily Evans? Did they even care? She knew that answer, and it was probably no. The student body only knew them as shy, distant, and distinctly cold. As such, they were basically ignored. Not that it bothered them much.

The reasons for May's anti-social beliefs originated when she was 10 years old. The year before she had come to Hogwarts her parents had been killed by a dark wizard called Voldemort. He'd come to her house while she was visiting with her grandparents, and killed them in cold blood. She had been unfortunate enough to have found their bodies. It was enough to cause her to withdraw from life, traumatized by what she'd seen, and hasn't really initiated herself in again. It had always been like this, since before Lily could remember.

Snapping out of her reverie, she propped herself up on her elbows and glared at May. She was excited, that much was obvious by the goofy look on her face.

Ever since her parents had died she was living with her grandparents. She always told Lily never to feel sorry for her because she was happy living with her grandparents, they made her feel needed, and that made her feel good.

"Come on get up," May said sweetly.

Lily rolled her eyes in response and dropped back into her pillows.

May sat down on the end of the bed and began to bounce the mattress. Gently at first, but when Lily showed no signs of ever leaving the confines of the blanket, she began to bounce a bit more roughly.

Lily propped an eye open and glared at May.

"Leave me alone. I'm not in the mood for this today!" Lily groaned, hugging her pillow closer to her head.

May stopped bouncing and looked at her sympathetically. "I know, but you have to." May frowned. "LIsten, I'll ask Gran if you can come over for a few weeks…" she said in a sing song voice, attempting to lighten Lily's mood.

Lily rolled over in her bed, the sheets tightening around her legs. Stretching, she smiled at her friend, "thanks, May."

"Now come on and get up!" May said loudly, slapping Lily's foot and standing up.

"Ugh...fine," she mumbled into her pillow, "just…give me a minute will you?"

May walked to her side of the room; sat down on her packed trunk; and watched Lily fling the covers of her.

"You know you're going to have to pick that up, right?" May asked her, eyeing the comforter pooled on the ground.

"Hey, if it wastes time…" Lily muttered unhappily, cringing as the cold stone floor came into contact with her bare feet. Wrapping her robe around her shoulders, she took her wand from the top of her desk, and pocketed it. "When did the others go down?" she asked, referring to the two airheads they were forced to share their dorm with.

May rolled her eyes. "Oh them, they're up and gone, must be prompt and efficient! Have to say good-bye to everyone we know. You know two months apart is the equivalent of death." She gave a fake shiver for effect.

Lily threw a smile over her shoulder as she exited the room.

Her dorm mates: Cindy Roads and Alicia Rodney, were beyond a doubt the biggest blonde airheads (no offense to blondes, I had to use it for effect, sorry ) in the whole school; they were probably the biggest in all of Britain, Scotland, hell, even Wales. They were annoyingly conceited and had to have everything their way. They didn't know anything beyond guys and nail polish. And to top it all off, they treated May and herself like trash. They were just your everyday typical bimbos, in every sense of the word. Lord knows she couldn't stand them, nor could May. In fact the only people that actually put up with them were the boys. Gee, wonder why? The funny thing though was that they worshipped the Marauders, though everyone did, didn't they? However, Lily was pleased to notice that the Marauders rightly ignored their efforts; Lily had to give them points for that.

Sighing, Lily pulled open the heavy door to the girl's bathroom. She walked in and shut the door behind her. The blue bathroom was large, with five bathroom stalls and about 10 shower cubicles lined up back to back.

She noticed that she was alone, from the lack of running water, and stepped into the first empty stall, turning the water knob to hot. She scrubbed the overnight grim off of her body, enjoying the sensation of the water running over her flesh. She loved her morning showers; it woke her up, and made her feel clean, and revitalized. She squeezed some of the familiar shampoo into her small hand, and began to rub it through her beautiful red hair, humming quietly to herself. The familiar scent of watermelons reached her nose causing her lips to curve into a smile. She loved the smell of watermelons, which's why she chose that particular scented shampoo. She quickly rinsed it, and turned off the hot water.

She reached out of her stall, until she felt the fluffy material of the robe, and wrapped it around her slim body, tying the belt tightly around her waist. She squeezed the access water out of her long hair, letting it flow to her feet in a steady stream. She stepped out of the stall, took her wand out of her pocket, and walked to one of the mirrors above the sinks.

It was really a wonder why so many people looked past her. She had bright emerald green eyes, underneath long thick eyelashes. Her face was perfectly framed by long fiery dark red hair that tumbled just to her shoulder blades, and her somewhat pale complexion was flawless.

She didn't see all this though, after all no one really ever complimented her, unless it was her parents or May. She frowned as she brought her wand to her hair. Her hair lightened instantly, and grew slightly in volume as it dried. She stood and stared at her reflection for a moment. Her eyes were dark with dread, but she looked more awake then she had before. 'Maybe a different look.' She pointed her wand at herself once again, and whispered another incantation. Her hair began to curl loosely, reaching her desired effect she smiled weakly and pocketed her wand. 'Well it is different.'

She began to walk through the deserted corridor back to her dormitory, clutching her robe tightly to her body.

She pushed the door open, and was surprised to see May sitting in the exact position on her bed, looking out the window, between Lily's and her bed.

"What are you still doing up here, May?"

"What do you think? I was waiting for y…." she said all this as she turned to face Lily. She stopped and smiled when she saw her redheaded friend. "Wow, Lils, your hair looks sweet!" she smiled brightly.

"Really?" Lily looked unsure.

"Duh, did you look at yourself?"

"I thought I'd go for a different look," she said shrugging.

May nodded. "I like it." She smiled. "Well, I suppose I'll leave you to get dressed. I'll be in the common room."

Lily nodded. "Ok."

May smiled before disappearing out the door.

~~~~

When May reached the bottom of the stairs she looked around the familiar common room. She smiled to see that no body was there. 'Probably all gone to breakfast, and to cry to each other about being apart for more than a day,' she thought sarcastically to herself.

Sure she would miss Lily, and only Lily, but honestly! A day apart! She rolled her eyes at the thought. She plopped down in a large armchair and picked up a random magazine on the center table. She cringed when she saw the title. 'Teen Witch' but it was reading material, 'what the hell?' She opened to the first page, and was surprised to actually be interested in what she was reading. So interested in fact that she hadn't noticed the four teenagers all standing behind her. She flipped the page, silently, biting her lower lip, as she devoured each sentence.

The silence was shattered when a loud cough from behind her tore her from her thoughts. Jumping clear out of her skin, she dropped the magazine onto her lap. She spun around to see Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew standing in the entrance to the boy's dorms.

She rolled her eyes at them, and diverted them to the magazine she was reading.

"Hey, you're May right?" Sirius asked, coming to sit in the chair closest to her.

"Um…yea," she said shortly, hinting him to leave.

"Why aren't you at breakfast?" he asked.

"Is it any of you business?" she asked as she turned a page, her eyes glued to the page in front of her.

"Hey!" Sirius raised his hands above his head, while James and Remus snickered. "I was just trying to be friendly."

She rolled her eyes again. "Yea, friendly, right." She turned her head to look at him. He was still looking at her, his eyebrows raised in question. "Euck! Fine, if you must know, I'm waiting for Lily," she said looking back to the page she was on. She was trying to concentrate on the article she was reading, but that was getting harder and harder to do.

"Evans?" James asked.

Remus and Sirius rolled their eyes at their friend. May glanced up from the magazine to look at him oddly. "The one and only," she said suspiciously.

Shutting the magazine, she looked at James more closely, sizing him up. She was shocked to see that there was concern there. What could he possibly know? Nothing! So why was he showing concern? She felt the corners of her eyes narrow into slits.

"You're friends with her?" James asked.

"Yes," she said, letting a hint of edge creep into her voice.

"I didn't know," James smiled. "Is she ok?" His smile faded into a concerned frown.

After the previous night, James had made the decision that he wanted to make friends with Lily Evans. He had seen that she needed one desperately. He wanted her to talk to him about what was bothering her. He had always known her, throughout the years of their schooling, and prefects meetings, and he had always been intrigued. She was a mystery that he wanted to solve. She was always so quiet and withdrawn in prefects meetings, never letting anyone see any of her personality. She never even shared her ideas. Only, last night she had given him a small clue, and he was determined to find out more. He wanted to unravel the years of mystery, and sadness that clung to pretty, redheaded Lily Evans.

May's eyes widened. "What….how…."

Just then a noise was heard on the staircase, saving May from answering.

James turned all the way around and looked at the girl's entranceway, where the noise had come from. A small redheaded girl descended the stairs. She was beautiful, he had always known that Lily Evans was pretty, but he never cared to notice before. She had done something with her hair. It curled loosely, tumbling around her shoulders. She wasn't wearing robes, but muggle clothing, since today was the day that she was going back to live with her Muggle family. She had on a somewhat tight green shirt, and hip hugger jeans. Her shirt complimented her eyes and hair. But James was quick to notice that her startlingly green eyes were sad and looking at the ground as she walked. He was desperate, to know why. He felt himself take a step forward.

"Hello Lily," Remus said from next to James. She looked up and smiled, but James was quick to notice that it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Oh, hello," she said quietly.

"Hey, Lily." James said looking at her. "Is everything all right?"

May shot him a look. But Lily just smiled at him.

"Oh I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Though her eyes said differently. His gaze shifted to May, who was looking at Lily sympathetically.

"Come on Lils, let's go down." May said, standing up from her position on the couch.

She walked over to Lily, and walked with her out of the portrait hole.

"Wow, she'd pretty hott, those robes sure hide A LOT!" Sirius whistled as the portrait hole closed after the two girls.

James glared at him, while Remus frowned.

"Don't you dare try anything Si, she's got enough problems, I dare say, without you pushing yourself into her life," Remus said seriously.

"What do you take me for? Huh? A heartless git?" Sirius asked, his arms open wide in mock shock.

"Do you really want us to answer that?" James laughed, quickly dodging a red velvet couch pillow that Sirius had pitched at him.

~~~~

"Lils you have to eat something. I don't want you to be this depressed at home, where I can't be there to look after you," May said worriedly.

Lily laughed, to shift some of May's seriousness away from her, but May didn't laugh.

"May, I'm fine! I'm just not hungry."

"EAT!" May ordered harshly, pushing a strip of bacon toward her.

Lily frowned but picked up the piece of bacon and brought it to her lips. She took a small bite.

"Happy?" she asked as she swallowed the small piece of bacon.

"Very." May smiled.

Suddenly a disturbance went through the Great Hall.

Lily placed her bacon back on her plate, and looked up to see most of the Slytherins growing beaks, and sprouting feathers. Feeling a smile rushing to her lips, she ducked her head, and stared fixedly at her plate, but the hilarity of the situation was too much for her to handle. A small giggle escaped her lips, and before long, she was shaking in suppressed laughter. This was the most fun she'd had all year. She temporarily forgot that she was going home today, and enjoyed the moment. She looked over at May, happy to see that she had joined in the laughter as well. She looked away from May, and glanced toward the doors to the Great Hall. What she saw made her laugh even harder. She bit her lip, and tried to contain herself. She could feel her cheeks heat up, but she refused to let herself go completely. Professor McGonagall was storming up to the Marauders who had just entered. They were trying to keep their innocent face on, but with much difficulty. Just looking at Peter's terrified face, set him up for guilt.

Lily watched the situation with interest, slowly calming down.

Suddenly, James eyes lifted from the angry teacher, and made contact with her. She blushed, as he smiled at her and winked.

She quickly diverted her eyes, feeling her cheeks flame up again, but this time from embarassmaent.

~~~~

A few minutes passed, and Lily began to become more and more detached from reality. It was now the time that Lily dreaded most of all. She followed May silently to the awaiting carriages. Their trunks had been already placed in the compartments under the train. So the girls sat back, and waited for the carriages to move.

The thought of seeing her parents excited Lily somewhat, but seeing her parents also meant seeing Petunia, squashing much of her previous excitement. She hated the thought of having to edure her verbal, and probably physical abuse for a whole summer. And worst of all, she had to pretend to actually care about seeing her, for her parents sake. It made her sick to her stomach.

She vowed now that if she was to ever have children, they would never meet their Aunt Petunia. They rode in away toward the Hogwart's Express station in silence.

When they finally reached the station Lily followed May to the scarlet steam engine. She sighed and climbed on after May.

The corridors were narrow, full, and cramped. The air was stuffy and warm, and Lily began to feel the effects almost instantly. Small, crowded, warm areas tended to make her paranoid. The floor tilted dangerously, and she felt bile rise to her throat.

"May…we need to find a compartment now." It was quickly getting worse, everything around her was becaming a noisy blur.

May looked back at her slightly green friend.

"Oh…ok, Hold on Lily, I'll find one," May said soothingly, "just follow me."

Someone shoved into Lily, just as she was nodding her head to May. Her head began to swim dangeroulsy, and she began to fall to the side. Her stomach gave and unpleasant lurch. Her knees gave out, and she felt herself fall. She waited to hit the hard floor, but it never came, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist.

"Get the hell out of my way Mudblood!" Lucius Malfoy spat at her. She looked up at the blur in front of her, frowning. She tried to stand, but tripped, and fell back into the arms.

"Get the hell out of here, Malfoy! How is it that you cause devastation with just your presence! Hm…must be your face….now, leave before I'll be forced to dipose of you, in the worst of ways…would you rather have a 36D cup? Or maybe a C?" The person who had caught her spat. His grip tightening on her waist. She tried to stand up again, and made it. She swayed at first, but managed to stand, leaning against the person who had caught her, so she didn't fall again.

Malfoy's eyes widened dangerously, and his lips paled to almost pure white. He took a step forward.

"Nuh huh huh!" The person said in a sing-song voice. "I wounldn't if I were you." A wand came from the person behind her. He brandished it like a sword in front of her.

Malfoy stepped back, glaring at them, before storming off, and disappearing into the crowd of people.

"God, he is such and arse hole!"

"Oh my God, Lily are you ok?" May cried, genuinly worried.

"Yea… I…I just need to find a compartment," she said distractedly.

"Come on, you can sit with us." Lily looked up, her blur coming into focus 'James.'

"Thank you, James. Sorry for all this," she said.

He put his arm around her waist, so that she could lean on him to get back into his compartment. "Lily! Don't worry about it, there's nothing to be sorry about." He smiled down at her.

She looked down at her feet. "I feel a lot better. I think I can walk fine," she whispered.

He removed his arms from her waist, and walked beside her, with May scurrying behind them.

"Hey guys wait up!"

When they slid the door open, Remus and Sirius stood up from the seat, while Peter looked just looked up.

"We send you out ten minute ago to find the cart lady, and you come back with girls?" Sirius said with a smirk.

"Um….yea." James smiled.

"That's my boy!" Sirius said clapping him on the back.

Remus and May rolled their eyes in synch.

James ignored him, and sat Lily down on the seat nearest the window, his favorite seat in actuallitly, but she was pale, and sweating. He placed two hands on each of her shoulders, and looked into her eyes.

"Are you ok?"

May stood behind him, biting her lower lip.

"Yes, fine thanks," Lily said embarrassed that James had seen her in one of her weak moments. "I'm sorry."

"Lily! Don't be!" he said shaking his head.

"I know, I'm just….embarassed," she said looking down.

James smiled. "There's nothing to be embarassed about."

Lily looked up, looking for if he was lying, but all she found was sincerity. "Thanks, James."

He nodded and sat down on the seat to her left.

"What's wrong?" Remus asked, witnessing all this in stride.

"Lily's chlostrophobic. And she had a run in with Malfoy during an attack," James answered sitting down next to her.

Remus winced. "Oh, that bloody stinks."

"Yea it does," Sirius piped up.

Lily nodded at the occupants of her room, and turned to the window. She rested her forehead on the cool glass, shutting her eyes, and slowly let her tense muscles relax into the back of the seat. The cool glass assuaged the sharp pain of her head ache for a bit, and even helped her forget of her nausea.

Sirius and Remus sat back down where they were sitting before.

"Hey, May, come sit down," Sirius said patting the seat between himself and Remus. She rolled her eyes, but she walked over, sitting between them.

James reached over, and rubbed circles into Lily's back comfortingly.

Lily felt more relaxed, as she breathed deeply, her breath leaving condensation on the window.

"Feeling any better?" Remus asked from across the compartment.

She lifted her head from the window, sitting up straight in her seat to regard the boy. She flushed crimson, and stiffened, when she realized that James's hand was still on her back.

She looked at Remus and smiled. "Much better thanks."

He smiled back. "Good."

"Lily, you want to play exploding snap?" May asked getting up from her position next to Sirius.

Lily looked up and smiled in relief. She had to get away from James's hand, she didn't like how it made her feel.

"Yea." Lily got up and followed May to the far corner of the compartment near the window.

"So….What did Malfoy say to her?" Sirius asked, leaning forward toward James.

James rubbed his eyes under his glasses, before looking at Sirius. He leaned forward, with his arms resting on his parted knees.

"He called her a mudblood. I don't think she heard it though."

He watched as Sirius's and Remus's faces filled with fury.

"I know, I know...I was trying to hold lily up right at the time, so I didn't get to pound his ass into the ground…but…."

Sirius made a violent motion in the air, probably demonstrationg what he wanted to do to Malfoy.

As an hour past, the girls fell asleep curled up next to each other, on the floor.

"I'm going to go get some food," Peter said, standing up, and stretching.

"Ok. Hey, can you also find out how much time we have left til we get there," Remus asked.

"Yea." And he was gone.

There was small noise was heard from the corner of the compartment, and the attention of the three boys was turned toward the noise. Lily had woken up. She was stretching, reaching toward the ceiling. She glanced at the others in the compartment, and jumped slightly in surprise.

"Oh…er…Hello, I totally forgot that I was in your compartment," Lily said as she yawned. "Do you know when we get there?"

"I'm gonna say soon," James replied. Lily's face fell heavily, and she looked out the window at the passing scenery.

The door slid open, and a pale face boy with white blonde hair, and cold eyes entered. Lily looked up at the noise, before flushing and looking down at her lap.

James stood up blocking Lily. He couldn't do anything then, but he could do something now. Malfoy, however, had already spotted her.

"So…What is the famous James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin doing with a couple of ugly losers? One's a mudblood, and the other is just plain mud."

James pulled out his wand, pointing the end at him threateningly. Sirius and Remus stood up, glaring daggers at him.

"Oh, F-you Malfoy! Is that the best you can come up with? You must really want breasts to come back here and cause more trouble!" James yelled at him. He raised his wand higher, only to feel a small hand on his arm, he looked down to see Lily's pale hand push his wand down.

"Let him do his worst you unloved, freakish mudblood." James raised his wand again, practically shaking with anger. Sirius joined him with his wand, pointing it right at Malfoy's chest.

"She'll be loved more than you ever will," James spat"

"Oh really?" He leaned around James's arm to look at Lily. "Why don't you go home during the holidays to your perfect Muggle family?"

Lily's face became red with fury. "That's none of your business," she said angrily.

He laughed cooly. "Is it because your not wanted at home? Unloved I dare say?"

That was it he'd pinched a nerve, she flew at him, and punched him right in the nose, breaking it instantly. Blood splattered down his pale, pointed face. His hands flew to his face, instantly covered in blood.

"Damn ib mubbloob!"

She raised her hands to smack his already swollen face, but James held her hand back, and stepped in front of her.

"You'd better go, or I'll let her go at you," he said seriously.

Malfoy gave one last glare before disappearing as quickly as he had come, blood running down the length of his arm now.

James, Sirius, and Remus all stared at the fuming Lily. This was the first time that they'd seen this side of her, and it was, well, amazing. Quiet Lily Evans had just broken Malfoy's nose. Priceless!

They watched as Lily's emerald green eyes filled with angry tears.

"Lily…" James said stunned.

"Excuse me," Lily squeaked, and rushed past them out of the compartment.

She didn't know where to go. 'Oh now I've done it,' how was she to explain herself. To top it off, she was ten minutes from the station to go home. She slid to the floor next to her compartment, and gave a huge sigh. Gulping air hungrily into her lungs.

The compartment door opened, and she looked up just in time to watch Remus Lupin trip over her legs. He fell over her legs onto the floor with and embarrassing thump.

"Oh, bloody hell!" he shrieked messaging his knee.

"Oh my God! I am sooo sorry!" Lily scurried over on her knees to where he was sitting. "Seriously, I'm really sorry."

"S'ok, You know Evan's your dangerous, first you clock Malfoy, break his nose non the less, and then trip me. Remind me never to mess with you ever again." He smiled at the distraught look on her face.

"I am truly sorry," she pleaded.

He chuckled. "It's ok, I promise!"

The train pulled into the station, and stopped.

"I guess I don't need to find Pete to see when we are going to get to the station," Remus said as he looked at Lily, who had considerably paled. "What's wrong?"

The door to the compartment opened next to them. James was the first one out, followed by Sirius, then May.

"What's going on here?" James asked, noticing a pale Lily Evans kneeling over Remus. He moved quickly, to help Lily into standing position..

"Oh, nothing James. Lily just thought it would be humorus to trip me." Remus smiled at her, with an expression showing her that he was joking. He stood up and dusted off his robes.

James broke into laughter.

"I think we have a new Marauder!" he laughted. He held up his hand for lily to give him a high five, which she did She smiled weakly. When he put his arm around her, stiffened, her emerald eyes growing wide. "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," he said, his eyes dancing with laughter.

Lily looked at him frghtened. 'He didn't mean that did he? Why would he want to be friends with her?' She tried to move desperately out of his grasp, but he tightened his hold on her shoulders.

Remus followed them out of the train.

"Lily…Wait up!" Lily turned around and waited for May to catch up with her. 'Good timing May!' Lily thought.

James took his arm away from her. She sighed with relief, relaxing slightly. "Have a good vacation Lily!" he said with a wave as he disappeared into the crowd.

When May finally reached Lily, she smirked.

"So, I heard what happened on the train while I was sleeping. You broke his nose?" she asked breaking into contagious laughter.

Lily giggled slightly.

"He got me angry."

"I guess so." May smiled at her.

"Lily! Lily!" A voice sounded close by, she instantly recognized it as her mother.

"Oh no!"

May smiled weakly. "You'll be fine. Write me ok?"

"Of course, what else will keep me sane?" Lily asked.

May laughed, and pulled Lily into a tight hug.

"Bye Lils, see ya soon."

"Bye" Lily said miserably.

She turned to her mother, and was immediately engolfed in a hug. The familiar scent of her mother's perfume filled her nostrils. Hugging her back with all her might, Lily thought, for the first time in weeks, that maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she had anticipated. Then she caught a glimpse of Petunia. She was glaring at her, hatred evident in the sneer spread across her bony face. Cringing, Lily hugged her mother tighter. Maybe not.

**Well, that's all that I have for now. Should I keep going? A review would be helpful! **


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